Mercury Therapeutics News
Debiopharm Group and Mercury Therapeutics, Inc. sign an exclusive license agreement for the development and commercialization of Debio 0930 A first-in-class, small molecule activator of AMPK for treatment of type 2 diabetes... 
Mercury Therapeutics' main focus is on the discovery development of orally active small molecule activators of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK).
AMPK is a well-validated though largely unexploited, protein kinase drug target in metabolic disease. While a number of anti-diabetic drugs currently on the market, including metformin (Glucophage®) and pioglitazone (Actos®), have been shown to act indirectly to activate AMPK, Mercury Therapeutics is seeking to develop the first orally available direct AMPK activator. The potential indications of a successful AMPK targeted drug include:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Hyperlipidemia
- Obesity
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Endocrine cancers - prostate, breast, ovarian
In 2006 the worldwide market for oral antidiabetic drugs exceeded $20 billion.